Blood Price
by Fenris30
Summary: Possibly having the mole cornered, the three end up back at Lili's place in Berlin, hopefully to finish everything...if he hadn't taken off yet. Having enlisted the help of Lars Alexandersson, his old ties allowed him to help uncover the mole, though not his full motives. Will they manage to get to him in time? Final story of Arc 1 of Reticent Watcher.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This is the last story in Part 1 of Reticent Watcher! Well, the last main one. (There are the one-shot prequels, fill-in stories, etc.) Like the rest, graphic smut warning, and there are chapters with some nasty violence as well. Enjoy!

* * *

The two had returned to Berlin without any issues. They were picked up at the airport, reporting home that the business meeting went well. It technically wasn't a lie; they were there on business, they met up with some people, and it did-for all intents and purposes-go well.

Now, Sergei and Lili had to tread lightly to make sure they did not inform the mole that they were onto him. They suspected if the condition of the utterly brutalized corpse of the other man had been leaked-Sergei did call in favors to get rid of that one-the man might indeed know what was up, since he probably would have guessed who had been at him. Still, Sergei had not heard anything otherwise. The mole had stepped out of Berlin temporarily, but they suspected he would be back after regrouping.

Lili opened the door to the penthouse as Sergei dropped whatever luggage they had in the corner. She walked over to her perfectly made bed to sit on the edge; she lay back after a few moments.

 _It's good to be back in luxury_ _,_ she thought to herself. The place in Stockholm had been nice; but Lili was still a little on the spoiled side.

Sergei walked over to the table, which was made up for her already. He sat, tapping a cigarette out of his pack to light it before checking his phone.

"Lars should be arriving at some point," he said.

Lili nodded. "I can set him up in a place nearby."

He smirked for a moment. He figured that Lars would be quite surprised to see his accommodations, as he had likely never stayed anywhere so nice before.

Lili continued to relax on the large bed, watching Sergei smoke his cigarette. She knew he hadn't actually had one in awhile. He wasn't the heaviest smoker around-he barely even scratched through six or so a day on average. Sometimes he went with just one after dinner. More stressful times would see him with a few extra, however. He was mostly staring out the window, watching it get dark; it was a clear, cold day and the sunset looked rather brilliant from where they were. He would occasionally glance back over to her.

She leaned over to grab a tablet out of the nightstand; she decided to start to check a few of her messages. She thought perhaps a few friends had decided to get in touch with her.

As she looked over her tablet, she heard Sergei get up and move around a bit; perhaps getting a drink. He then came over to lay next to her on the bed...and his hand found her stomach. She looked over to smile at him, putting the tablet away.

Before she could day anything he leaned in to kiss her deeply; his hand moving around to her rear end already. She squirmed a moment before settling in, her own arm sliding under his as they lay on their sides. She smiled.

 _Okay then...I guess he's interested in something or other._

She knew _exactly_ what that was, and she was not about to stop him. She felt his hands begin to start to remove her shirt. She paused a second to sit up to take a few of her clothes off; mostly just her shirt and bra at the moment as he removed his own. She leaned in, feeling the skin contact again and relaxing against him as she nipped at his neck.

Lili had settled into her new highly sexual lifestyle very nicely. She never thought she would be that sort of person; before Sergei had come along right before her eighteenth birthday-which was now about a year and a half ago-the guys she had dated just never had that edge to them. She wasn't what you would call prudish or against it; she was simply very particular of what she looked for.

Even though Sergei could never be more than an affair that could end at any time, she happily embraced this new life.

He lay back, pulling her down on top of him. He smirked before he flicked his tongue against her lips and then inside; he bit a bit at her lip as her moans grew in intensity. His hands touched her just the way she liked; firm, almost rough...but not _truly_ painful. Lili, as it was, preferred things fairly intense, and Sergei could deliver. The feeling was mutual-Lili's body was well-cared for, toned and athletic; Sergei liked how he was able to be more intense with her.

"You aren't waiting," she said, breathing heavily. He did get started rather quickly upon their return.

He just shrugged and pulled her back. He had been _quite_ hungry for her lately-even moreso than what was normal. Maybe he felt it was due to everything that had happened-and still may happen. He also knew he would have to go back for awhile at some point in the near future-and perhaps wanted to take advantage of what time they had.

Plus, there was the fact he genuinely felt for her, so it made the pleasure that much better.

He nipped at her lip some more, pulling her back down to him; he enjoyed the skin contact as well. He began to try to work her underwear off; she was wearing a skirt, which made it fairly easy, though she had to reposition a bit.

Lili chuckled-a bit evilly, to be sure. She sort of knew what she was going to do in a bit, but she waited a little. Laying back down on him, she met him again in a deep kiss, his hands now running up and down her nude body. She started to try to pull off his trousers-his only article of clothing left-but sort of got distracted from his hands on her rear end and thighs.

She broke the kiss, nipping his lower lip one last time as she started to crawl up him and position her knees on either side of his head, hovering just above his mouth. She grinned down at him as she rest her head on the padded headboard, feeling his hands move up to massage her thighs for a moment, before going to her waist. His tongue slid out to stroke her from back to front; only the tip slid over he midsection, causing small gasps to escape her throat.

She knew he was going to tease her in this position before he let her sit all the way down on him. She knew he loved this position though-it gave him full access to everything and he was completely surrounded by all of her most intimate areas.

She quite liked it herself, for obvious reasons.

He pulled her closer, slowly licking her around; he always started off slowly to turn her on even more. She positioned so she was fairly well sitting now, one hand holding onto the backboard and the other sliding through his hair as she looked down; he glanced up at her a moment before closing his eyes and beginning to tease her faster.

Sergei had to shift around a little; the moment she positioned over him he almost started to become painfully hard. She knew how much she was able to turn him on with certain actions.

He opened his mouth wider, licking her more and more roughly as she became more aroused; on of his hands went around to her rear to rub and begin to slide around more toward the center to add a bit of extra teasing for a few moments as she gasped. She squealed a bit louder as he began to suck at her clit, nipping ever so lightly at it.

This always tested his self control to it's limits; her movements directly on his face, her loud moans, and being surrounded by her was enough to make him want to begin to use his own hand on himself. He considered it more than once; he could just continue to go down on her until he got hard again-he liked it, he knew she liked it, and it would only extend the session.

He knew she liked to return the favor, though-they could switch positions after this if they wanted.

Lili heard his breathing get heavier as she kept moving her hips rhythmically against him; she was so incredibly wet and turned on right now she was biting her lip, trying desperately not to yell out. He always figured out something new to do, and whatever it was it always felt amazing; right now his tongue was buried quite deeply inside of her as he massaged her thighs. He lifted her up just for a moment to tease her some more; she could feel more of the wetness on her thighs from his face, which was just plain hot to her.

He pulled her down again, continuing where he left off. Both of them lost track of any sort of time; and neither cared. They had nothing this day.

Sergei began to move his tongue faster against her, pressing his mouth closer as he sought to make her come; she felt herself going over the edge and with a low cry let go; continuing to hold on tightly to the headboard, trembling as he drank her in. She finally finished, catching her breath and staying there for a moment as he lifted her slightly, though teased her a bit more.

He looked up at her questioningly; she knew if he was asking if she wanted to stay in that position or not. She smirked down, turning around to let him completely loose from his trousers as she heard him chuckle low. She barely got a chance to begin teasing him with her tongue as he began to lick slowly at her again, her sensitivity increased. He swirled his tongue around her opening, enjoying the taste of her.

After shaking out of it, she began to concentrate on pleasuring him; as difficult as it was she was getting to be pretty good at the mutual pleasure thing. One hand teased him underneath as the other massaged his huge leg; she slowly started to take him deep, sucking first lightly at him, letting her tongue run around it's length. He was a very admirably sized man-at first, their first time took her a bit to get used to during actual sex, but she adjusted rather quickly. She loved his low moans and even small almost growls that came from his throat when she did this. He was usually so good at controlling his emotions that when he expressed himself, she knew how pleased he was.

He arched his back slightly when he felt her take him deeper; she knew how to pleasure him and he loved it. He thrust his hips slightly, though he let her control it mostly. He was quite good at keeping focus on his own activity at the moment, as he brought his hands up to hold her tighter as he dragged his tongue up and down her, going up a little further yet to do a bit of teasing; after he discovered she liked this-she did squeal audibly louder-he would do this from time to time.

He was so turned on at this point that with some more motions down at her end-taking him deep and sucking him harder, her tongue going up and down his shaft as she did so-she could hear his breathing grow heavier and feel him stop concentrating as hard on pleasing her as he threw his head back to allow himself to go over himself. She pulled back to tease the head a bit, flicking her tongue over it and sucking at it, hearing him moan just a bit louder as she took him deep and felt him tense in orgasm. She heard him growl low, holding onto her rear as he came, thrusting his hips a bit as she swallowed. He lay back, panting as she finished him off and let him go, resting her head on his leg.

After a few moments, panting, he nudged closer to slide his tongue back into her folds again, focusing on her clit to bring her over the edge again. He heard her moan out loudly; she was _so_ sensitive at the moment. He knew this and kept teasing her; he wanted her to come even stronger than before.

This wasn't hard to make her do; as he sucked at her clit he finally brought her over, bringing his tongue up to lick furiously at her as she came, coating his tongue with her taste. When he felt her finish, he pushed forward again to clean her off before laying back and letting her roll off of him.

She slowly changed position; when she saw him she giggled rather loudly. He sat up, smoothing down his hair-his face considerably wetter than normal due to the positions he was in. He licked his lips, wiping his face off with his fingers for a moment. He smirked at her.

 _There was a time I wouldn't have thought this sort of thing was hot. Those times are long, long gone._

She crawled forward to lean next to him; he removed his trousers the rest of the way, as he knew they would soon need a shower. It would likely take him a little while to recover-they could probably have sex later on. Her heavy-lidded eyes let him know she was quite pleasured at the moment.

She had practically gone to sleep under his arm before she snapped back, realizing she wanted a shower. He hadn't budged yet-not even for his cigarette.

 _I should move before I don't want to._

–

Lili looked out of her window, sipping a cup of strong coffee. After the flight and everything else, she needed to wake up. She would have to go meet with her household and have a conference meeting with her father online. They had both gotten dressed, just in case someone came to the door.

She looked over at Sergei, relaxing on the couch. He had a cup as well, skipping the vodka for once as he clearly would have preferred going to sleep as well, but he had a lot to do. He would likely have to send in a few reports-he was, technically, fighting the same enemies that he would be fighting at home and he'd have to let them know who was still alive or not. The cigarette hung from his fingers as he sat back, staring out the other window. He glanced back over at her and smiled a moment.

She liked how comfortable he seemed to be getting. He never showed anything resembling this if he was in the vicinity of anyone else, but here he seemed somewhat relaxed-about as relaxed as he could ever be. Lili mused that he always looked ready for _something_ , though.

He suddenly checked his phone; he fiddled with it a moment before looking over at her again. "Lars is on his way here." He chuckled once.

Lili smiled. "Good thing he decided to come now. That was fast."

Sergei nodded. "He's reliable."

"I'll go have more coffee delivered. He seems to be a fan."

"It is popular in the north, yes."

Lili smirked, contacting a servant to prepare a very large pot, along with some food on the side. She very much liked being back where she could be waited on again. She went about to straighten everything up in her room, making it look like they didn't just dive directly onto the bed and engage in oral sex for the past hour.

 _One of these days, I'm going to forget something, and questions may be asked. I have no idea how I'll respond._

She tried not to think about it too much. Truth of the matter was-she was now nineteen; she knew he father wouldn't disown her. He cared too much. But she really had no idea. She knew he likely wouldn't hire Sergei; he scared him a bit too much. Even though Lili was perfectly happy where they were-she would not want him to be cut off. She might have to go find him herself at that point. She knew Sergei wouldn't be too happy there, either; though she also had a feeling he would try to find her.

She would have been right on that.

Servants arrived, rolling in a large cart-a very fancy version of what one might get room service on-which had on all manner of things. Lili smiled. She had gotten dressed into something casual; she would not be doing anything with the business for a couple of days. Sergei was about as casual as he got.

Sergei got a call soon after as Lili sat with her laptop, catching up on a few things. He nodded, walking downstairs to go get Lars. He had been to Berlin before, but was not familiar with this place.

As he brought him inside, his eyes widened for a moment. He smiled. "I knew you guys were loaded, but..."

Lili laughed. "It's okay. It works for me while I'm on this internship." She stood, walking over. "Take what you want," she said, pointing toward the cart. Sergei excused himself to go to the other room for a few moments.

Lars wandered about for awhile, drinking coffee and checking over everything. He seemed quite amused that she would call this "okay", as for anyone else it would be full-blown luxury. She thought he may just pass out if he saw the manor.

He finally walked back over. Lili had already taken out a lot of money before today; she figured she would deal in cash. She had a feeling the mole was not completely stupid, and she decided using cash to set Lars up would be a lot less noticeable.

Sergei came back in, chuckling at Lars growing wide-eyed as Lili counted out an enormous pile of euros; everything from twenty to five-hundred euro bills. She handed him the huge stack.

"Let me know if you need more. I have you reserved at the finest hotel in the center."

Lars blinked, sliding a cigarette out of his pack and offering one to Sergei, who took it. "Are you sure I need that...fancy...place? I mean isn't that a bit...lavish?"

Lili chuckled. "Exactly. They'll never suspect an ordinary soldier staying there."

Sergei smirked at her as he lit his smoke, going back into the other room. He knew how clever she was.

Lars smiled. "You're right. I was planning on going the other way underground. But, well, since you're offering..." He sat next to her, taking a drag of the cigarette. He couldn't complain; he was originally planning on getting the dingiest place he could find. "I'll start hunting up information after I'm settled, though I suspect Sergei already did a lot of that." He gave her a slightly knowing look, and chuckled. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that mole for much longer-if I know Sergei, he's going to hunt him to the ends of the earth."

Lili blinked. _Does he know something? He gave me a look...oh gods_ _._ She quickly whipped up a response.

"Of course-you know him and his duty."

"Yes. I also know him and his dedication." Lars smirked. "We've known for a bit of time. Maybe we don't see often. But I can say this much-he has never looked at another human being like that in that time-and I don't think he ever has before, either."

She glanced off to the side, going to fix herself a second cup of coffee. "Please don't tell," was all she could think to say.

"Never."

"Did he..."

"Not a word. You know him, it's all you can do to get words out of him." He laughed. "And he's not that obvious either. He's _never_ done it in public, even the times no one was around. He didn't even do it in private more than a couple of times...but it was all it took." He leaned back. "I think he trusted me, though. I don't think he would have if he didn't."

"When did you figure it out?"

"When we were having the long discussion." He chuckled. "He might like to poke at me a bit..."

Lili blinked; she had no idea Sergei liked to poke at _anyone_ jokingly...except for her, of course.

"...Just a bit," he continued. "But I am quite perceptive. You don't live as long as I have in my situation if you aren't."

She nodded.

He took another drag of the smoke. "I just wanted to say that at this point, I can tell he will not stop until that mole is punished. I would really, _really_ hate to be him as well. He's doing this for more than just his duty."

 _I know_ _._ It always gave her stomach flutters to know this, despite how much they had done. It drove home that it was more than a fling, even if they couldn't actually _be_ more.

"I know it can't be anymore than what we have," she said. "But I don't think it matters."

Lars smiled again. "It doesn't."

At those words, she felt she noticed a presence moving away from the door.

"Anyway," he said, finishing his coffee and grabbing a sandwich off the fine plate, which he apparently intended to eat on the road. "I'll get going. I'll let you guys know when I know anything, which will be soon. Let me get settled in. I'll find where Sullivan is, since he should be back in the country now."

"Trying to hide among the other workers, probably," she said. Sergei walked out at that moment, nodding to Lars, who returned it with a smirk.

"Take care. Both of you," he said, pulling his long jacket back on and saluted.

When he left, Lili pretended to walk around as if Sergei hadn't heard anything. She sipped at her coffee and made like she was looking about the food tray. She heard him walk up behind her and felt his hand on her cheek for a brief moment.

She leaned back into him as his arm went around her; she looked up as he leaned over to kiss her once. He reached his scarred hand over to touch the side of her face.

As always, neither one had to say anything.


	2. Chapter 2

Sergei woke earlier than normal; he knew he would have things to plan. Lars would be back today, and the three would have to put something together.

Lili had already decided her role; she would simply go on, business as usual, and try to get the mole-it wasn't even worth remembering his name as he was a dead man anyway-back to the Berlin headquarters if he wasn't already there. The potential issues-besides other people on his side, or on the Zaibatsu's payroll-was how much he knew about what transpired. If he knew too much, he could take off rather quickly, to come back yet another day in the future.

She wasn't sure how far his influence ran. They suspected not _too_ terribly far; he likely only had a fairly small amount left working for him. To be fair, she sort of thought they had a good plan...but they hadn't accounted for the wrenches in the gears. Namely Sergei being around and Lili being a damn sight more clever than they thought a somewhat spoiled young lady in her late teens could be.

Lili stirred when she heard Sergei moving about; he had spent the night in her place. He would do that from time to time. It was easy enough to make up an excuse; all of the servants knew he was her bodyguard, and they knew about the heightened security. Of course, they had no idea what _actually_ went on when he stayed there, but that was just how they wanted it.

She shivered; it was quite cold now, being well into November. She pulled the blankets up a bit; she was naked, of course. She was in quite a good mood waking up, as one tends to be after going to bed to some rather excellent sex.

Sergei looked at her as he pulled on his trousers. He watched as she eventually slid the covers off and looked over her body; he wanted badly to lean forward to begin kissing it...and much more. He knew he shouldn't though. Once again, this was one of those times that he was grateful for his self-control. There would be time later.

She smiled at him, apparently thinking the same thing. She threw a gown and her robe on and called to the servants to begin preparing breakfast. She thought she would get extra to accommodate for their guest who would likely be arriving in an hour.

She said nothing as she went to the shower-simply smiling.

 _I'm totally getting this quiet thing down._

–

Lars arrived on time; he usually was. He put his jacket up and sat at the table, quite impressed with the giant cart of food the servants had brought up. Lili still insisted on treating any guests as best she could; sure, some of it was that she liked flaunting her status a bit, but she did feel she owed Lars at least a little.

"The place you got me is pretty amazing," he said, taking a seat.

Lili smiled. "I'm glad you like it."

Sergei smirked at her before turning back.

"So," Lars started. "Sullivan-the mole-has a few other people working for him. Mostly disguised as guards, they're more...higher-ranked soldiers in the Tekken Force. I know the type. They are more like black ops-they take the dirty work."

"Do you know who they are?" Lili asked.

"No, but they won't be too hard to root out. If we lean on a few people, Sullivan may make a move to attempt to strengthen his position."

"How does one man expect to take over a company?" Lili pondered.

It was Sergei who spoke. "By simply wearing your father down."

"He's not working alone. He probably has even more above him, yet they aren't really involved," Lars added. "He probably has easy access to soldiers and grunts, as well."

"So attacks can happen anywhere," Lili sighed.

"It's why we need to stay a step ahead."

Sergei simply sat and listened as he smoked a cigarette.

"We're probably better off if we go for them first." Lars continued. "Gives us the element of surprise."

"Why is Sullivan so hard to find?" Lili asked. "I mean, he's here in Berlin or at least close. He's obviously planting ideas around and moving people around to try to get to me to break my father."

Sergei leaned forward. "He's probably hiding in plain sight."

"A smart move, too," Lars said. "He knows we're looking for hidden stuff. So he's probably hiding in places we're not even thinking of. Though we have dealt enough blows to him that, again, I think he'll make a move."

"Do you think he'd actually...bring out heavier guns this time?" Lili frowned.

"Probably."

The three were quiet for awhile. It was frustrating...since they really couldn't think of anything to truly plan. Sergei spoke again.

"We should just keep an eye out and wait until they move. Then trap them."

For once, the other two did not find it necessary to speak. They simply nodded in agreement.

Lili took a bite of the food, milling things over.

 _Make your move, mole. We have you now._

–

The messages came rather early the next day. Lili turned over, fumbling for her phone, since it kept blasting more messages through. She was alone this night, since it was one of the nights they decided to stay apart, for discretion.

Rubbing her eyes, she started at the phone; the messages seemed to be from Sebastian. Half-asleep, it took her awhile to realize there was a sense of urgency in them. Finally waking up, she sat up to re-read them.

 _Trouble here_ _,_ it said. _They are threatening your father again, only directly._

 _They've threatened to come for you, they've threatened to let certain secrets go._

 _This feels even worse than their usual antics._

 _My lady, please be careful._

Lili read over these notes again. _They want to blackmail him. They're trying to strike home. They may try to strike me again._

She shivered, pulling the blanket around herself from the back. She wanted to end this soon; she was surprised how much trouble just a few people could cause.

 _Well, it was only a few people who tried to kidnap me, but they weren't so great at it, compared to this bunch._

She got out of bed, pressing the button on the coffeemaker before pulling the robe about herself. She then sent a call to Sergei's room; she knew he would be awake, as he was usually up around six. She didn't know how he did it, but his military manner was ingrained into him so deeply she figured it would never leave. All she would do was send a message to his phone, and he would show up.

She began to get dressed after she sent it. Sergei, naturally, did not take long to get to her room during this time. He simply knocked twice and let himself in; this was his way of telling her it was him. He had a key, as well; Lili had made sure he had one. Her bodyguard ought to be able to come and go, after all.

He saw her, nodding as he always did, giving her a small smile. He walked up to her, giving the side of her face a fast stroke before kissing her once lightly. Lili appreciated his increase in affectionate gestures, even if they were small.

"This," she said, showing him Sebastian's messages.

He looked over them, frowning. He read through them a few times. "Was he specific about anything else?"

Lili shook her head. "See...Sebastian or my father don't know about the gunman. So they don't know how bad it's gotten on this side. I'm guessing they're going to continue to attempt to threaten me to get him to bend."

"Will he?"

"I need to speak to him and tell him no. I think we'll be able to take care of things here."

"Of course." Sergei sat, pulling a cigarette out of his pack. Lili walked into the other room, calling her father.

"Dad?"

"Lili? Oh, god. Is everything okay there? The...these threats. They are telling me they are sending people after you if I don't listen."

"Dad, don't worry. Sergei's here with me, remember? He's with me at every meeting. He's staying right below my place." _And sometimes in it._

"Lili, I do wish that maybe you'd come home..."

"And let them win? No. We can't. We can't show weakness to them."

"But..."

"Dad," she interrupted. "If you bend once, they'll keep coming. You're safe there. You have all the guards. Great ones. Sergei here has killed more of the Zaibatsu than you'd like to know."

"I..." Lili could hear him almost shudder on the other line. He was a pacifist, she knew all too well. "Just be careful. Please. If you think you need to come back early, then please. Don't trifle with them."

"It's only some more weeks. I'll be home for the holidays." She fiddled with a few things on her desk. "Don't give up. We're stronger than they think."

"We will be on higher alert. Lili, I love you. Please..."

"We'll be fine here."

"I will be giving them a bonus. The military."

"I think they wouldn't argue with that."

"Some of it will go to Mr. Dragunov personally," he continued. "For his continued duties."

 _It's so weird to hear him refer to a younger man as that. Especially Sergei_ _._ She had to sort of choke down a giggle at his comment, though. _He's doing just fine in his duties, yes_ _._ That one phrase lightened her mood quite a bit.

"I love you, Dad. Hang on."

"Yes. Goodbye-don't hesitate to call."

"I won't." She hung up the phone. _He worries a lot. As always._

She walked back into the other room. Sergei had probably not picked up most of the conversation; they were speaking French. His French was limited; as many military people would do, he picked up bits of many languages and actually spoke three or four fairly fluently, though French was a bit limited for him. He had gotten a little better, though, spending so much time around people who spoke it.

She looked at the table, Sergei taking a drag of his cigarette. There was fresh coffee waiting for her. She smiled at him.

"I didn't know that was part of your duties," she said, walking over to him to press her forehead to his, kissing him a few times before sighing at the situation. She stood back up.

Sergei just shrugged, smirking.

"Need to do some things today. I'll take a shower later."

He nodded, sitting back in his chair to watch her get her coffee ready.

It was one of those moments where he didn't have to say anything, but he somehow made her feel much better.

–

The day passed without any more issue. Lili was happy to shower and be able to maybe relax before tonight.

Lili was considering getting dressed again soon; she only had on her underwear and a thin, silk tank top at the moment. Sergei was mostly naked himself except for his cargoes-he had just showered as well not long ago. He looked over at her for a few moments before walking over. He knew she was tense...and when he touched her, she quickly slid her arms up under his to kiss him deeply. She knew where this was going, and where she wanted it to go.

He pushed her over to the wall as he kissed her intensely; his huge hands sliding down her arms and back. He traced his lips down her neck nipping her lightly as he went to a breast to trace his tongue around.

She felt his kisses move downward more; she knew that they would have to leave again soon, but they could get into things quickly. She exhaled as she felt him kiss between her legs; he knew her body so well now that she knew he could get her off soon. Even when they had fast sessions, he never seemed to skip over foreplay. As she lifted one of her legs up to rest over his shoulder as he positioned his mouth over her to lick her, she knew he liked it far too much to skip it.

She threw her head back and moaned; his ministrations increased in intensity quickly. She could hear his own breathing grow heavier, along with the wet sounds of his mouth as he drove to bring her to orgasm. She grabbed his head as he squeezed her rear; he suddenly turned her around to tease her from behind. She cried out a _bit_ loud at this.

 _He's more intense than usual today_ , she thought before she felt him begin to tease her quickly even more as her knees shook. She was _very_ glad to have excellent balance right now.

Sergei sort of knew in the back of his head he would have to leave soon; he knew she had been stressed a bit more than usual lately, and found himself becoming a little more sensitive to this. Sometimes, he could just lie there next to her and offer his usual wordless comfort-other times, he felt that she very much enjoyed pleasure. This was one of those times.

He massaged her rear as he continued to tease her for a few more moments to her moaning gasps; he turned her back around to kiss her thighs a few moments; she shuddered as he bit lightly at them. He then slid his tongue back between her legs to swirl around her clit and thrust around inside of her for some time. Both of her hands rubbed the back of his head, holding him there; her actions and sounds told him that she was looking to get off soon.

She looked down at him, her eyes growing a bit heavy, she smiled as he met her gaze a second before he drove to bring her over. Sucking at her clit a bit roughly, she thrust her hips forward and came after a few more moments, her knees shaking. It felt _exceptionally_ good this time. Not that it ever felt anything but good, of course-but there were times it felt even better than others.

Sergei pulled back, licking her a few more moments before standing. He licked his lips and wiped his mouth; he regret that he probably shouldn't keep going, due to time. He went over to the bed to sit on the edge; he prepared as Lili caught her breath to walk over. She did something surprising, however; after she kissed him once, she turned around and slid on top of him that way. She had wanted to know what this felt like; he was still inside of her normally, though turned around it did feel a bit different. She quite liked it as she settled down, his arms wrapping around her as he kissed her shoulder. He moaned low, as it felt a little different to him as well.

She began to move up and down, he helping her out with his thrusts. The pleasure he gave before left her soaked; he was beyond good with his mouth at this point and it never took long to get her ready for anything else.

She moaned louder as his other hand ran up and down her leg, stroking her thigh, enjoying the way her toned muscle felt under his scarred hand. He nipped at her shoulder lightly as she began to ride him faster, her head dipping down as both of their breathing grew heavier. He very much liked this position and wanted to try it again.

After a few more moments, Lili tensed up as she felt him thrust faster and finally come himself; he bit down a bit harder on her shoulder, though was still careful. He uttered his usual low moan; the sound that Lili always loved to hear. They both slowed as he finished, staying together in that same position for some time. They separated after a short bit, though Lili stayed a few moments more, Sergei's large hand stroking her stomach from behind and his head resting on her shoulder. He finally slid off the bed to sit next to it, Lili joining him off to the side, leaning against him as his arm slid around her. He smirked down at her, pushing back a few locks of her hair.

"Not much time," he said.

Lili shook her head. "We'll come back to this." She stood, kissing him lightly on the mouth. _This feels far too natural now. What's it going to be like without this?_ She sighed, turning to get ready.

They had some things to take care of. Worrying could come later.

–

 **A/N:** I decided-after a lot of time-to put the chat with Lili and her father in, albeit it was short. I decided it would be sort of interesting to have that aspect in.

Plus, lemon. Lili has been really enjoying her intimate time with Sergei...and the feeling is very mutual. He's been taking advantage of this fact.

Also-we all know wall head is hot.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** A bit of a warning here: There is some graphic violence in this-that's listed in the main warnings-but there is also a bit of 'Medical Gore' to describe it. If you're squeamish reading about something like 'first-aid removal of an object', then I just wanted to give a heads up. (Some folks can deal just fine with graphic fight violence but get squeamish with a medical procedure; it happens.)

* * *

Today was lining up to be a busy one. Mostly, Lili just had to write reports at her place first-which she hated-and then talk to a few other people just on the phone. She had less problem here. Then she had to write out a few emails.

Finally, she had a rather quick meeting thrown together at a restaurant she had not been to before; and it was a late one. She wondered why they had to meet this late, but they had explained that they were traveling in from London, and that the only flight they could catch would put them in Berlin in the early evening, which meant they would only be available later...and they were busy the next day. In addition, it was a private meeting...so that would mean no other people allowed.

Not even Sergei.

Lili had gotten the tiniest bit of apprehension, but she quickly pushed it down, chalking it up to having been under a lot of stress lately. She had other meetings like that, after all.

 _This happens. I occasionally jump at shadows. I really shouldn't._

She thought she was sort of silly for that; while being prudent was important, she knew how to take care of herself-even better as the time goes by-and she had probably one of the world's most dangerous bodyguards who had already killed a dozen or so enemies for her. More than that, in fact. She really felt she shouldn't have to worry, but the stress can wear on a person...particularly after the threats that had come the other day.

She sat down with a large coffee and got to work. There wasn't much else to do.

Lili had chosen a rather casual outfit; she wasn't sure why, but she didn't really feel like dressing up tonight. She still felt somewhat...off. She tried to shake the feeling, but couldn't. To be frank, she could sense something coming off of Sergei as well; the two knew each other very well, and seemed to be able to tell.

They got into the limo and rode there; it was about twenty minutes away from her place, so it wasn't even far. On the way, Lili spoke up.

"Where will you be?"

"There is a hotel above the restaurant. I will see what might be going on there. I'm keeping in touch with Lars right now."

She nodded. "I'll get in touch if I sense trouble."

He looked at her. "Be careful."

She stepped inside, one man there nodding. He bowed and went to the back as Lili sat down.

She got a bit of a cold chill.

 _What did I walk into?_

–

Sergei was heading up to the nearly-vacant looking hotel. He suspected his concern was correct-and Lars had told him as much that he thought something was up. He knew there were enemies around this hotel, now...it was just a matter of finding them.

He knew he had to soon, as Lili was alone downstairs. He trusted her skill...but he did not trust the enemies who knew she was skilled, and may come after her with something beyond her level.

In the restaurant, Lili got a bit of that cold chill again. Maybe it was because it was empty. Maybe it was because she was alone.

 _I've been set up._

She realized that now, and felt a bit silly. _I should have known better. Private meeting? Evening? In the winter when it's dark?_

She felt incredibly stupid, but now was not the time to chastise herself. She felt like she should get out, now...but carefully, lest a gun be trained on her.

She crept around, suddenly hearing the floorboards creak. She stepped off to the side, away from any windows or doors, hoping they didn't have a large-caliber weapon on them...whoever it was.

Peeking around the corner, she saw a woman. She couldn't tell how old; she only looked about in her twenties, though that could mean anything as Lili herself looked older than nineteen. She had medium-length blonde hair and otherwise looked pretty, though professional. She seemed to be wearing a sort of feminine business suit.

 _She's not here to be my friend or join the company, I don't think._

She looked shorter than Lili, though women on average tended to be. She was built seemingly slim though also seemed to get regular exercise; it was hard to tell through the suit. Lili found herself sizing her up as she could sense there would be a fight; the way the place was empty and how she was there...and how she kept checking under her jacket for something. Possibly a weapon.

While she likely had more raw training than Lili-even though Lili felt she had improved nicely over the years-she also had a reach disadvantage. She did not know how quick she could move just by looking. She began to think that she could try to keep her at a distance, perhaps.

As Lili went to move off to the side, she bumped the chair. She noticed the woman perk up.

 _Shit. I may have gotten the drop on her._

She braced herself, stepping back to give herself room and to put a few chairs and tables between them. The woman walked out, spotting Lili and getting a small smile on her face.

"Hello," she said, politely. "I'll need you to come with me."

"For what?" Lili replied. She didn't bother returning the greeting.

"Someone has interest in you. We don't want anything bad to happen, do we?"

"I'm not the one worried about that." Truth be told, she was a bit-but she would not show weakness to this stranger.

"Your father didn't bend to us. So...perhaps he needs some more encouragement. If you come along, nothing will happen to you. Trust us."

"Trust you?" Lili snorted.

"Only if you come along."

"If I don't?" Lili replied, stubbornly.

The woman smiled. "I'll have to take you by force:" She pulled a long knife from her jacket.

"How stereotypical _are_ you?" Lili sneered. It was like something out of a movie. "At least try." She thought by taunting, she could unnerve the woman. She did not want to show weakness.

The woman scowled and charged. Lili could tell this woman was much more experienced...so she'd have to use smarts as well. She knew how dangerous knives could be; they could kill in an instant with one good stab.

She went on the defensive. She knew some of the maneuvers Sergei had taught her to disarm, but she was swinging with the knife in a controlled and careful manner. Lili decided to try a bit of offense; she went low to sweep, but the woman anticipated and swung around to slice at her arm; Lili cried out from the sting. She didn't think it went deep...but she already could imagine the scar.

 _I need to be more careful..._

She went back to defensive, ducking and rolling out of the way, springing back to her feet. She feigned another dodge but came around to kick the woman in the chest; this hit home and she fell back, trying to catch her breath. She held onto the knife, though; she managed to recover her feet before Lili could come in with another hit. The woman countered with an elbow to the gut, which almost knocked the wind out of Lili; but she managed to step back just enough to avoid being debilitated long enough for the woman to stab a vital.

 _I should ask Sergei about body armor. Apparently I need it these days._

They threw small blows at one another again-some missing, but some hitting home; she thought that she'd be feeling this one for awhile. Lili decided to try to disarm the knife for good; she made a few open attempts at hitting to try to get her to stab...and she took the bait, thinking Lili not that clever. She caught her arm, bringing her hand up to the elbow like she was taught, dislocating it. She quickly kicked the knife far away as the woman yelled out, dropping her arm to the side.

 _Now_ _,_ Lili thought.

She came in, one kick being dodged but another hitting her in the side of the head; it caused her to bite her lip and spit a fair amount of blood. Lili was surprised; she felt like she didn't hit her as hard as she could have, but she managed to hit her just right, it seemed. She came in again with her hands thrusting forward hard to hit her in the chest, knocking the wind out of her. As she doubled over, Lili swung a hand up to her nose, possibly breaking it; more blood flew.

Her adrenaline running, she struck home with a few more punches, hand strikes, and kicks; she was a bit upset this woman wanted to kidnap and possibly kill her. Finally, she kicked her knee out hard, the _crack_ that filled the air telling her she broke it rather badly; afterward she span around, hitting her on the side of the head with her own knee. More blood flew from her mouth as she fell to the ground, unconscious. Lili kicked her hard one more time to make sure she was out. Possibly out of frustration, as well; she wasn't exactly happy with some woman coming in to try to kill her.

She paused, breathing heavily. _I can't kill her. I can't bring myself to do it. The knife is right over there...but...no. But she might come back. Though she's a failed assassin..._

She knew Sergei was busy...she had to get in touch with Lars, whom was on standby. As she went to get her phone, she noticed three or for more knife wounds on her and twitched. A couple of them came close to some nastier parts...and she hadn't even felt them.

 _What just happened to me_ _?_ She didn't like the amount of blood. It was nothing compared to when Sergei killed someone, but she had never beaten someone up _this_ badly. Sure, she had fought many a scrappy street fight but most of those were never even to unconsciousness.

The man in the alley perhaps came close to this, when she thought about it.

She shook her head, knowing she had to stay cool, though her knife wounds started to _hurt_ _._ These were not scratches; while most were not _too_ deep, she knew one-on her chest, a bit too close to comfort to one of her lungs-may need extra closure; she hoped she would not need stitches. She wasn't even worried about how the scars would look at the moment. She knew she would have to call Lars and ask for his help in doing _something_ with the assassin. Judging by the shape she was in she wouldn't be waking up soon, and even if she did, with a broken elbow and knee she'd not be moving fast. She had a fast thought to look for any phones or anything...none were on here, though she suspected she had to have something _somewhere_ here.

 _Lars first. Then searching._

She sent a fast message, knowing that he likely would only send one back when he was there. She thought to tie the assassin's legs together anyway quickly, and then went to go wash her wounds off. The shirt was cut, naturally, and the blood had soaked in rather heavily, though she was not in any danger of actually losing a lot. It was bleeding more than she would have liked, though, for sure. She stood for a moment, breathing heavily.

 _Blood can cover a lot more, I know that._

She paced. The adrenaline was wearing off, and she was a bit nervous...and also, without the adrenaline, the blood and pain hit her. She felt dizzy for a moment, and almost nauseous; everything at once hitting her made her bite her lip and put her head down. She went quickly to the bathroom again to splash cold water on her face. Breathing calmly-thinking about how Sergei had been stabbed countless times during combat and knew he lived-she managed to control herself and settle down.

After a few more moments, she looked at herself in the mirror-and felt fairly proud and satisfied. This woman was likely much more experienced, but she beat her, and managed to be fine through the aftermath.

 _Try to throw something harder next time_ _,_ her first thought was.

 _Okay...maybe not_ _,_ said the more sensible voice.

She sat tight, wondering what was going on with Sergei in the suite above the restaurant. It helped her take the mind off of the pain.

–

The _snap_ was quite audible.

Sergei tossed the dead man in front of him; he had gotten the drop on him, grappled with him for a moment, grabbed his head, and twisted it around. He had found the enemies after being in contact with Lars, who had somehow managed to scout the place from across the street.

He continued to search the room. Once he killed these last three or four, there would be no one left attached to the mole according to Lars; at that point he would have to probably come out of hiding. He was a bit angry at himself that he was so hard to uncover. He was _there_ , but he was hiding incredibly well. They wanted to find him before he could position more Zaibatsu members in the company.

He knew he had surprised them.

He walked around the corner to the kitchen; a muffled, high pitched sound followed a sharp pain in his left shoulder.

 _Silenced pistol_ _,_ he knew immediately, and he knew the armor-piercing round was settled into his arm. He did not want to move it too much...but he knew he could still win.

Mere hired hitmen would not be enough to stop him.

His scarred lip curled into a snarl as he went low; the pain was nothing to him. The pain, he felt, was good; he knew the nerves were not destroyed. He wouldn't use the arm unless he had to; he knew it wasn't broken, but there was a bullet in it and it was likely fragmenting somewhat. He did not want to disturb the area anymore than need be. He went low, coming up with a massive shoulder check to the man's stomach; he was too surprised to even take another shot. He did not realize that it didn't stop the huge man.

As he doubled over, a vicious haymaker hit the side of his head and he fell forward, crawling and trying to get up on the window sill. Sergei wound back, viciously striking him in the back of the head with a brutal downward kick with his heel; the _crunch_ that followed told him that he smashed his face in against the sill as blood sprayed out and began to drip down the wall. Not checking to see if it killed him or not, he repeated with one more kick; this one had a significantly wetter sound to it and the blood poured down. The man slumped to the floor, certainly dead now if he wasn't before, blood now everywhere on the wall and floor, flowing from his head all over.

Sergei glared down at the corpse and moved on; he could hear the other two in the room and tried to make it over to the door in time; he made it, seeing two more men who turned to stare at the hulking, blood spattered figure now in front of them.

The man who did not seem to be even noticing the bullet in his shoulder, and who seemed to be tracking in a hefty amount of blood from the kitchen.

Blood that was flowing from the windowsill to the entryway. Huge head wounds caused immense bleeding, after all.

Sergei scowled at them and dashed forward. He was satisfied enough that he saw fear in their eyes.

–

Lars appeared through the back door of the building, locking it. Lili nodded to him as he blinked, checking her out.

"You're hurt," he said.

"I should be okay."

"This one is deep."

"Sergei is good at field medicine," she smirked.

He nodded. He figured she would prefer if he took care of her. "Did you clean them?"

"They hurt, but yes." She decided to set his mind at ease and at least let him examine them. He did so, quickly; he was satisfied that these would be fine for the time being, and they could properly take care of them back at her flat.

Lili then walked into the other room, which definitely looked as if there had been a fight. "She's in here. I...couldn't..."

Lars nodded. "You don't have to." His eyebrow went up. _Impressive_ _,_ he thought. He turned toward her, looking around. "It seemed intense."

She nodded. "I was surprised that I beat her. But...take care of it. Don't tell me what you do. I'd rather not know."

Lars nodded. "Sergei had messaged me that he finished off the last of them."

 _Of course he has_ _._ She nodded. "I'll go in the back to wait for him. He said he would come down through the fire escape." She turned to walk away, leaving Lars alone with the still-unconscious assassin.

 _Just take care of it._

A few moments passed, and a very bloody Sergei stepped in. Lili knew by looking at him there was no one left upstairs. Or, well, they _were_ _there_ , but they certainly weren't alive in any sense. She looked him up and down.

"You still get messy," she said. She noticed the gunshot. "You've been shot..."

Sergei shook his head. "I'm fine," he said, checking her wounds out. "I want to take care of these." He thought nothing of the bullet wound in his shoulder it seemed.

"Later. Yours is worse."

Sergei snorted. Lars eyed the wound but said nothing.

"Let's just go," Lili said. "Better to get back."

The two agreed. Sergei looked down at her a moment while Lars adjusted his coat to quickly stroke her cheek with one finger. He had washed his hands, though she could still see the remnants of blood under his fingernails, and his clothes were splattered badly with it.

 _Even around another person, now...even though he wasn't looking._

–

Sergei put on the last of the dressings onto Lili's wounds.

He had been concerned about the deeper one, but once they were cleaned properly, he thought it fine to dress them. Working on the field, one had to know things like this; and these were very minor compared to things they have had to deal with in the past. He was no field medic, but he knew enough to take care of things after a fight, even a nastier one.

Lili flexed her arms, very surprised at the job he did. His touch had been light, as usual when he was treating her with more sensitivity. He had used butterfly bandages to close up the deeper one; everyone determined that stitches would not be needed, as that one was not very long, either. She had simply sat back and watched him bandage her carefully, even through his own wounds.

"Your turn."

"Yes, the bullet needs to come out."

Lars frowned. "And the shrapnel. Yours needs quite a bit of cleaning."

Sergei shook his head. "We have more important things."

Lili folded her arms. "They can wait. Clean that." He had started to take his jacket off; she shuddered when she saw the spot.

It was bloody and bruised; she had never seen someone get shot before, but given how neither Sergei nor Lars looked shocked at it, she supposed it was normal. It had clearly missed any vitals, though she didn't like the look of some of the fragments. Lars went over to the military field kit and removed a long pair of tweezers and a probe. Sergei frowned.

"Is that necessary?"

Lars nodded. "Not letting that go." He turned toward Lili. "We ought to show you how to do this."

Lili twitched. "I can watch..."

Sergei sighed, realizing Lars meant well. He had a...thing about leaving a man injured these days. Sergei suspected he knew what it was from as well, but he said nothing.

Lars handed Sergei one more thing...a bottle of vodka. That made Lili giggle a little, even given the situation. Sergei smirked as he accepted it, opened it, and took a gulp.

"I know you probably didn't need this...but still," Lars said. He began to probe around the area. The light was good, and he seemed to find the bullet quickly; he removed the bloody object and put it on the table. Sergei did not seem to change expression, though he took another drink of the vodka. Lili blinked.

"That's it? It's small."

Sergei nodded. "It had fragmented somewhat."

Lili was surprised she was able to watch this; though she supposed watching Sergei brutally kill about two dozen men in the past year and a half somewhat hardened her to this. A little bloody wound was nothing compared to Sergei braining some guy on the ground.

Still...it was her lover there-she had no qualms about thinking these words at this point, though she tried not to do it often-and he would occasionally grunt in discomfort, though he didn't really change expression. After taking another swig of the bottle, he glared up at Lars, though not unkindly.

"You should have paid more attention when they taught you this."

Lars smirked. "Try not to get shot."

Sergei snorted.

Lili watched Lars continue, pulling out bits of the bullet. Sergei eyed it on the table. After some time, it seemed that there was nothing left. Sergei took one more drink, put the vodka on the table, and walked off to wash it out with the shower head. She shuddered, imagining how that could feel. Lars noticed her, looking down at the rather bloody work area.

"Sorry about your tablecloth."

"We have hundreds. It's not important." She poked with the probe that Lars had at the bits. "Should this be all of it?"

"Most likely. It hadn't happened long ago, and this looks about right for one of these. He'll be fine. He's been shot more than once, and I wouldn't be surprised if he had some shotgun pellets in him somewhere."

Lili shook her head. _Sergei, I don't have to worry about you but you should be careful..._

Lars lit a cigarette, cleaning up everything and repacking the kit. He planned on sterilizing it all later. Sergei eventually walked out from the bathroom, having dressed the wound himself. It looked like a fairly good field dressing. He moved his arm, pleased at how it felt. He looked at Lars again, taking one of his cigarettes that were on the table and lighting it.

"It wasn't bad after all." He sat down next to Lili again. Lars chuckled as he gathered everything up. He glanced over at the two; Sergei had started to examine Lili again. She smiled softly at him...realizing that he was seemingly paying attention to her with someone else in the room.

 _He knows that Lars knows. I don't think he would do this around anyone else._

She was correct; but now, he was comfortable. He looked over again, Lars getting on his coat.

"Leaving?" Lili asked.

"Need to do a few things tomorrow. We have him cornered, as said...at this point all he has left to do is come out and give up."

"Or be lured out," Lili smirked.

Sergei looked over at her out of the corner of his eye when she said that. He then looked over at the other man, saluting. He nodded once.

Lars chuckled again. "You're welcome." He turned to leave.

Lili stood; exceptionally achy and tired. She looked at Sergei wearily. "I just need to sleep. A long time."

Sergei nodded, standing. He came over to her from behind, sliding his arm around her. After a few moments in silence, he spoke.

"He was right that night. Lars was." He kissed her once on the mouth before heading off to the bedroom.

Lili blinked, confused. _What did he mean by that?_

It would be something that she wouldn't realize until much later.

* * *

A/N: Yes-I did the blonde assassin shout-out, heh. It's...a thing. Why not. Again, this is a separate continuity than Winter's Embrace...and well since this is the main story I figured I wanted to use that again. Heh. Lili showed her, though! (She is unnamed.)

The two get to nurse some light wounds...well, hell, a bullet in his other shoulder is 'light' for Sergei. Our heroes have to get hurt sometimes, now. As it goes, a bullet will not stop the Russian boot from being applied to face. Many times.

This chapter was a little challenging due to all the switching around, but I think I pulled it off pretty well!


	4. Chapter 4

Lili seemed to be a fast healer; she felt a little better a couple days later, though the wounds itched somewhat. This was normal, she knew-she had suffered injuries in tournaments and street fights.

She could only wonder what Sergei was going through with his bullet wound, though it was healing clean. It looked terrible, but at the same time she could tell there was no infection or complications with it. He kept it well-cared for. She thought she would have been scratching the hell out of it by now, but he, as always, acted like it wasn't even bothering him.

Lili had been giving a lot of thoughts about things the past days. She had practiced with the gun at the range again, and after the whole incident with the assassin-she won, but it could have gone very differently if there had been more of them, or she had been caught off-she simply wanted to be more prepared.

She finally considered carrying the gun.

She had thought about it. She remembered Sergei's words, and weighed them carefully; at the end of the day, if they send people who were armed after her, she suspected she would be able to pull the trigger if it came down to it. She figured that if she didn't have one, she could well be dead anyway.

She had brought it up to Sergei, who only nodded. He figured she would decide what was right.

He was likely on his way to the room; he spent extra time there these days. Somewhat for planning somewhat for making sure everything was secure...and of course mostly so he could spend more time with her, since he knew they would likely have to be leaving again soon, and this time he would be going back to Russia for awhile.

She took the holstered gun out, checking it to make sure it was safe. She put it on, checking herself in the mirror.

 _It doesn't look that bad. Plus it would be underneath my coat._

She went to go try on her coats as well; it stayed fairly well hidden. She felt somewhat self-conscious with the weapon; she wasn't sure why. She supposed she could get used to it.

Hearing the knock, she took it off and placed it back on the desk as Sergei walked in, nodding to her with the small smile that he would greet her with. She sat at the table, pointing at the large coffeepot that she had asked the maid to bring; they had done more and brought along food as well.

Sergei's eyes trailed over to the desk. He noticed the gun.

"You decided?"

She nodded. "Yes. I think...not all the time. But maybe some meetings. Some of the places where I have a bad feeling. Not during the day, or even most of the time. I think...I could use it if I had to."

"I trust you know what is best for yourself," Sergei said. He sat down, pouring himself a drink.

She smiled. "I hope so." She sat down as well. "How do you feel?"

He moved his arm around, smirking. "It's nothing. I've taken worse." He pointed at an old scar on his other shoulder. "This was from a much bigger gun."

She blinked. "I know you were shot from a smaller caliber when you were younger...did you get this other person?"

He raised his eyebrow, the smirk growing a little dark. She had her answer from that alone. She could imagine the surprise on the man's face when Sergei probably rushed him right down despite having his shoulder most likely broken. He didn't speak much of the other situation, though-she never pressed it. She continued on.

"I thought about what you said. Could I point it at someone and pull the trigger. And after the assassin...I think I could." She sipped some coffee, playing with her hair. "But...at least I know if I pulled it out, it would be in a situation where I would be dead anyway." She did not plan on waving it around to threaten people. She felt she was capable enough without that.

Sergei nodded, smiling softly at her. He touched under her chin. "If you want more help, let me know."

"I'll probably want to go to the range once per week. I'll have to...sneak it when I have to go back, though. I think I can."

"You should try to practice once in awhile, yes."

"I don't think I'll be carrying it back in Monaco. Ever," she chuckled. "It's getting unloaded, locked, and put way back in one of my private closets."

He chuckled. "It's not radioactive."

She laughed. She always loved when he managed humor. "I really don't need my father or Sebastian seeing it. They don't go into the places I lock up."

Sergei smiled again, imagining it. Having spent all that time at the manor, he had gotten to know the other members of the family, too. He had guarded her father on more than one occasion. He thought Mr. Rochefort was a good man who did care for his family, though he also felt that his hesitance to sometimes fight back was not doing him or his family any favors.

He figured he was hired again because of his demeanor-Mr. Rochefort couldn't stand to do anything dirty, so he ensured that he had someone who would do the work, ask no questions, and say nothing about it. He had been extraordinarily grateful toward the way he had protected Lili, as well. He would definitely be discussing more work with him, he knew.

He suspected if he knew about their other activities he may feel slightly different. Lili often thought about these things as well. She was surprised that they managed to hide it after all this time. Lili had occasionally been one to enjoy gossip, but she was amazingly light-lipped about this...even to her best friends.

Walls have ears, she learned. Lars was the only other person who knew...and he had figured it out on his own. Apparently only because Sergei thought to do certain actions around him, though...actions that he would never do around anyone else. They never discussed the situation, though, nor did they take any actions around him.

Lili looked down into her coffee cup; the two of them had seemingly been lost in their own thoughts. She guessed she had wanted to try to distract herself about the whole gun situation. She glanced over at it, and back to Sergei.

"Is your arm okay?" she asked, smiling.

He finished his coffee and smirked again, leaning in to kiss her lightly, as he would do. He stood after, walking over to the door.

"I'll get my things," he said.

She smiled.

 _Why not? It looks to be a slow day anyway_ _._

* * *

A/N: A fairly short chapter; maybe a 'calm before the storm...?' Hmm. It's sometimes nice to have downtime chapters, I think, to break things up.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N** : Graphic violence warning.

* * *

Sergei nudged Lili, who had fallen asleep on the couch with her laptop at the side.

They were at a hotel; they thought it might be best to head there early in the day and stay the night, in case something happened back at her temporary home. Given the potential delicate nature of everything, it seemed like the best thing to do. She had naturally picked a huge suite. She had tried to get a little rest, since she knew they would be confronting Sullivan tonight at an office building that was closer to the outskirts of the city.

 _He probably picked that one because it was innocuous, and so that we were closer to the end where he could take my body and dispose of it somewhere._

 _He has no idea I'm bringing company, though._

The meeting was easy to set up; she simply let word pass down the grapevine about a possible deal with the Zaibatsu, which was totally fake. She knew Sullivan would reply, which he did.

She had enough of this stupid corporate intrigue to last her a lifetime. _I really don't want this to be my life now._

The plan was fairly simple; Lars and Sergei would be leaving separately and showing up after, with her letting them know when she was inside. She would be taking a company car, and nothing would look amiss.

She was nervous, though. In her mind, she played out some of the worst-case-scenario things that could happen.

Her company car driver could be corrupt. She could get there and they could be waiting, armed before she even stepped in. She suspected neither of these things would happen, of course...but it still made her wish there was another plan. She knew the other two would be fairly nearby, though.

She had thought about all of these things as Sergei crouched down next to her, pushing back some of her hair. "We should go," he said.

She nodded. She leaned in to kiss him once lightly. He returned it...and then another one. He then touched her face before turning to leave. The two of them would be going their own way for now.

She got dressed, choosing easy to move in clothing that could pass as a sort of business casual. She had a feeling that she may have to fight something tonight, and didn't want to be caught in an unsuitable outfit.

Pulling on her jacket, she looked around at the hotel room, expecting to see it again.

Only victorious.

–

The ride was uneventful. The driver was simply that...just a driver.

Sergei and Lars had said there was nothing amiss; Lars suspected he would want her to actually go fully into the meeting room, as he probably had plans more along the lines of kidnapping. After some discussion, they decided to walk into the front, together, just in case.

They did so; it was dark, and the place looked fairly empty...but there were a few lights scattered about the upstairs. The company car was gone, and the surrounding area looked shockingly desolate. It was almost creepy, and would have been if she had been alone, she thought.

After they entered and separated; Lili was going to determine where the room was-the electronic locks on the front doors clicked.

 _Shit. I guess something was given away._

Sergei and Lars looked calm though.

Then, it suddenly occurred to her. She smirked over at them.

They had _wanted_ this. They didn't want him to escape. It was rather brilliant. She looked over at them with a slight scowl, however.

"You could have filled me in," she said, folding her arms.

Sergei snorted a bit of laughter. Lars responded. "It was a last minute decision."

Lili rolled her eyes, wondering what sort of conversation led it's way up to that, and she regretted not being there to witness it. She suspected it _may_ have been a little amusing.

She focused, though. She knew that it could get ugly in here, and soon.

The three stood together; they knew they had cut the elevators, but they had also locked the doors. They had no idea how many were in there, or even _who_ was in there.

Lars looked at them both. "It's all or nothing now."

Sergei smirked. Lili blinked.

"You mean..."

He looked down at her, the smirk still on his face. "We fight our way through. He's here."

She nodded, listening to the footsteps come from all around.

 _Well, looks like tonight won't be boring..._

Lars cracked his knuckles and his neck as he saw the first men coming in from the left side. Sergei backed up, noticing many shadows from the south door. His expression did not change.

Lili thought she might get away with maybe trying to track down Sullivan, but given there were a few more trying to sneak around, she decided she wanted to stay here and help, instead.

It didn't take long for all hell to break loose.

Lars, having the uncanny ability to dash in almost unnoticed before unleashing an assault, leapt up and came down on one's head with a downward angled kick; it was so strong that Lili could hear the _snap_ of the man's neck from where she was standing.

Sergei maneuvered around to two others, grappling one, punching his face twice brutally before kneeing him in it two more times; he threw him to the ground so hard the blow likely killed him. The second had his knee crushed by a downward kick, Sergei then following with two more kicks to the head as he went to his good knee; the blows were so fierce that they cracked bone and sent him flying; the blood smear left behind on the wall told Lili he was dead, as well.

The enemies came in greater numbers now. Lili saw one getting close to her as she hit him in the chest with her palms, sweeping him asunder and kicking him in the chest; he stumbled back, hitting his head on the wall. He seemed to be out.

More came out. Lili preferred to knock any that came near her out; another had two upward hand strikes break his nose, before a roundhouse put him down for the count as he hit the floor. She wiped the blood from her hand-she disliked that, but after she saw Sergei bring another down to crush his skull against the wall with a brutal downward strike with his boot, she figured it was nothing.

Lars smashed one with several hits; two punches, a roundhouse kick, and then a running kick to the chin that also broke his neck by the sound.

She saw two men break and run; neither Sergei nor Lars paid them no mind. Lili decided not to, either; she figured after they saw what they just did, they weren't going to do anything for the Zaibatsu again, ever.

Lili did not even realize time going by. She was careful to stay in safe positions; she knew they may have guns. She had hers, but did not take it out. Neither did Lars or Sergei, just to be safe; they did not want to hit each other if things got hairy during the battle.

Lili took a kick to her side that knocked the wind out of her; she rolled over, getting to her knees. She was able to send a fairly strong punch into the attacker's crotch for his trouble though. He stumbled back, Lars grabbing his arm, spinning him and taking him down, only to crush his neck under his heel. He dropped the limp arm afterward, helping Lili to her feet. She managed to roll out of the way again to hit another in his throat with a knife hand; this was enough to send him staggering back choking. Before she could strike him again, another appeared; she laid into him with a flurry of punches and kicks, before an upward palm hit his jaw hard, bloodying his mouth and sending him back against the wall; the hit against the side rendered him unconscious.

She could accept getting helped up once. Given the situation she felt she wasn't doing badly at all.

Lili turned, the man whose throat she hit was seemingly gone; he may have decided he had enough. She saw Sergei first strike a man in the side of the head with his brutal haymaker; afterward he followed with the deadly powerful roundhouse that she knew. Between his brute strength and his steel capped boot, it shattered the opponent's temple and some of his face with it, it seemed. There were about six other corpses around Sergei; she had been so busy she hadn't realized who he had plowed through. As usual, he was incredibly bloody.

She worked her brain for a second to try to think. _Three retreated. I think I knocked out three. Lars took out three or four? Sergei six or seven? How many are..._

She had to quickly duck out of the way of a knife; using the disarm method she had gotten good at, she quickly dislocated his elbow, swinging him around and giving him a kick in the back first, and then the of the head which was enough to send him flying forehead-first into the ground. He was seemingly out between the two blows.

Sergei had smashed one's face under his boot; one of his quick, no-nonsense...but incredibly nasty ways of dispatching an opponent. She could see the red run down from the caved-in area. She twitched a bit. _I will never get completely used to that_ _._ Sergei saw the man she knocked out, though-and she caught a look of that pride he would get. He never said anything-he wasn't one for patronizing compliments. He thought she deserved more than that. He totally trusted her by his side in any battles they had been in.

She was quite impressed with the massive overhead kick Lars would perform; he could usually aim it squarely onto an opponent's face with enormous force; she knew Lars held immense power, despite his more athletic build. One blow was usually enough to shatter bones and snap the neck...he could get incredibly nasty results, though Lars generally did not look as bad as Sergei after a battle.

She hoped it would end soon, though. She was sore and she had taken a hit to her lip that she thought would swell it soon-Sergei and Lars both had visible knife wounds, Lars' nose was bloodied, though not broken, and Sergei had some blood coming from his mouth. The blood of the opponents was a bit more prevalent; Sergei's area in particular looked absolutely terrifying.

But she wasn't sure how much longer she could go on for. This was the first time she ever had to fight so long and hard. Eventually even the other two-hardened soldiers-could take enough wounds to slow them enough that if they came in with heavy firepower things could get ugly. Things could get ugly quickly if they brought in heavier firepower _now_ _._ She was starting to get a bit scared, truth be told; this angered her, as since she did not like being afraid.

Lili caught four or so more guards out of the corner of her eye. after several more more were taken down or out between the three; it seemed Sullivan-whom she recognized-was in the middle.

" _You!_ _"_ She yelled.

Sergei and Lars were closer; they went directly for the guards, who quickly moved to try to protect Sullivan. She decided to take this chance to try to keep him from getting away.

As she dashed to him-the guards throwing him back-Lars grabbed a guard by the neck, lightning coursing his body as he snapped his neck single-handedly; Sergei came around with a leaping overhead heel to the side of another's head as he finished him with a stomp to the back of his skull as soon as he hit the ground. The other two began to somewhat back off; Lili had no idea what they did to them, but she certainly heard the sounds. She was too busy sliding in to sweep down Sullivan, causing him to tumble and roll clumsily. Lili found her feet, Sullivan getting up slowly as Lars and Sergei came to stand behind her.

Sullivan was trapped. All thirty or so of his men were taken out-either dead, knocked out cold, or dispersed somewhere far away to what was happening. Lili walked forward, striking him with a palm upward on his face; bloodying his nose and sending him stumbling back. She kicked him once in the chest, causing him to fall over again.

 _He can't even fight_ _,_ she thought. She took the gun out of its holster and trained it on him.

"You tried to kill me and my father. Ruin my family. You would have killed us all here tonight."

Sullivan didn't even look apologetic. "The Mishima Zaibatsu is huge. Bigger than your corporation. You'll bend eventually."

She flicked the safety off the gun. At that, he began to look worried for a moment. He composed himself. "Think of what your daddy would say if he found out you killed me."

Lili thought for a moment, flicking the safety back on and holstering it. "You're right." _No, he is. I couldn't kill someone. Even if he would come after my family again. I killed no guard tonight. Sergei or Lars may have finished some, but I left them either unconscious or they ran_ _._ After a moment of silence, she folded her arms.

"I won't do it." She turned toward Sergei, standing next to her. He was exceedingly bloody. "I'm going now. Take care of him as you see fit."

She saw Sullivan's face grow wide-eyed the moment he realized what she just did as she turned to walk off. Lars snorted at the man, turning around to follow her. Sergei walked forward, his boots leaving bloodied prints on the floor behind him. She heard the man scramble backward and squawk out something unintelligible before she opened the now-unlocked door to walk out.

She missed any other sounds that followed, though she could imagine exactly what was going on.

 _Did I order his death? Yes, yes I did. I didn't tell him to do it exactly, but I knew he would. I know what's going on in there. I apparently wasn't even hard enough to stick around to at least watch what I ordered._

 _Does that make me a killer? Did I word it that way to make sure I didn't actually say the words? Does it make me one if I know what Sergei will do?_

 _It's my family. I love my family. I can protect us, too_ _._

As she walked down the stairs-very sore and desperate for a shower-she remembered the night when she kissed him in the alley, even as he was bloody after dealing out more death to her family's enemies.

The night that it was ensured that he would be hers to command, even if he said nothing.

–

Back at the hotel, Lili ended up getting the longest, hottest shower she could remember. Besides it being rather nice on her sore muscles-she had to wonder how the people in tournaments fought multiple times a day or how Sergei could do it all day-it helped clean all of the dirt, the bit of blood, and also the sort of dirty feeling she got when she thought about ordering the man's death.

She had since sat down with a large spiked coffee, dressed in some casual clothes, in one of the large chairs in the suite. Sergei too had showered up-he had a lot to clean off of himself. If he normally looked like he butchered people, Lili had no idea how many men died by his hand tonight. It was enough to make her sometimes think what exactly she had in him, as he had the same expression that he always did.

She almost felt guilty double-guessing him, though; she knew _exactly_ what he was to her.

Sergei sat at a table, smoking cigarettes. He was looking over a few things, possibly mission notes or something of the sort. He seemed completely calm and fully unaffected by everything that had gone on that night. Lili couldn't understand how he could be that distant. She stood to walk toward the window, everything finally starting to hit her.

All of the threats, the moving about, the fighting, the deaths. She enjoyed fighting, but not particularly for her life. She liked to carry a gun now to feel safer. They had finally dug through the layers of everything, but it still wore on her.

Finally, after months, a tear slid down her cheek; she wiped it away. She felt Sergei shift behind her; he stood to walk over.

 _How did he know? Did he hear me sniffle or something?_ She thought she was quiet, but apparently not.

He stood next to her, tilting her head up. She didn't understand how he could so cold at a time like this. She smacked his chest lightly a few times. He wore his tank top, so she could still see a few of his recent cuts, as well as the healing bullet wound he had taken. He simply blinked, looking down at her.

"Why are you so calm? You were shot. I was cut. You were cut. I just ordered you to kill a man. Everything," she continued, another tear falling. It took her months, but the stress finally boiled over. "How can you stay so calm? Don't you care?!" Another tear fell from her eye. She wasn't panicking, she wasn't even enraged, she was frustrated and stressed...in addition to being quite sad that the two would not have too long together at this point until he had to leave again.

Sergei simply looked down, wiping a tear off of her face with his thumb. He said nothing still; after he wiped them away he pulled her closer. He didn't really know what to say; he was surprised it took her this long to finally let it all out. Even then, she was not bawling. She was stronger than she knew, he thought.

She had stopped hitting his chest already; it was just out of frustration for a few moments. She rest her head against him for a few moments quietly, She felt his hand run down the back of her head before wiping away the rest of her tears.

She calmed after a few more moments. She suspected that she had to finally just get some of that out. She let out a sad chuckle.

"That was...sudden," she said, looking up at him. He looked down, a slightly sad expression in his eyes. He nodded, touching under her chin.

"I'm sorry," he finally said.

"For what?"

"I wish...I could help more."

"You do more than you know, Sergei." She slid her hands to his sides. She looked down again. "I don't want you to go."

Sergei tilted her head up again, leaning in. He pressed his forehead to hers, finally kissing her deeply. She returned it, finally relaxing more. Much like that night where she kissed him in the alley, she sort of felt things starting to slide off of her-slowly, but it was working.

It broke as he ran his hand down her face. He didn't say anything, but she could tell by the look in his eyes what he was thinking.

 _Neither do I_ _,_ they said.

He walked over to the bed to lie down; she lay next to him, her head on his chest. She didn't really need him to do anything else.

 _I never have to dirty my hands with him around. It's like I have all the power in the world. That's...scary. But...I'd never use him. Not like that. Tonight was different...he would have tried to kill me, I know._

Sergei was duty-bound to his motherland, she knew. But she also knew that he felt bound to her too...and for more than just duty. As she felt his hand run through her hair, she could tell It was much, much more.

He seemed like he wasn't going anywhere this night. She wished he wasn't going anywhere at all, but she long knew days like this would come. They did before, and they would again.

As she finally drifted off-the stressful night seemingly days past even though it was just a few hours before- she never saw him turn his head to look out the window, or how he closed his eyes and sighed sadly.

He looked back at her after a few moments, seeing how peaceful she looked now and smiled softly.

Sergei decided he would just enjoy the time left as much as he could.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, this was a battle royale. I admit it was my excuse to do a big huge fight scene with the gang being all badasses. Lili shows another side to her which I hoped wasn't too out of character...trying to keep that balance between 'not a killer' and 'she has had enough of this guy's shit and finally shows it.' Well...she did, in fact, keep the letter of the word. ;)

I'd expect her to go through some things after, but not only with that-with everything. Sergei, likewise...hey, the feelings were always there. He just decided to maybe think about them some. It's sad that they have to separate eventually. It sort of sucks that they have to live the way they do, but to be fair they do enjoy it as much as they can.

I'm USUALLY not one to try to write corporate intrigue and convoluted plans, but well...I have played and written Shadowrun so I can usually asspull something here. It's not my specialty, but I could make it work. It seemed fitting enough.

Bout time they all got to kick some ass together though!


	6. Chapter 6

The three sat around a table at a much more casual restaurant; almost like a diner. Lili decided that after dealing with suits upon suits and actual bonafide corporate intrigue for the past weeks she was about tired of the nicer places and decided, for once, to go someplace leaning on more laid back.

There were many coffee cups piled around, as well as an ashtray that had to be emptied once already between Sergei and Lars. Lili chuckled at this, eating more of the dessert. The cheesecake here was actually pretty damned amazing, it turned out. The food had been quite adequate as well for a more casual place. She would have to remember it when she came back.

They had recovered after the ordeal for the past week; any of the wounds they sustained felt better, and Lili had time to mill over what she had done...or actively directed Sergei to do. She did not feel guilty. She felt a bit weird, still...but she knew if she hadn't have given the order, she wouldn't have done it herself. She suspected, though, that Sergei would have done for him on his own. He was like that. He didn't get his nickname for no reason.

She also didn't want to think about how they were going back to Monaco in about two weeks. This kept her mind off of it, though.

They were in fairly pleasant spirits, Sergei even enjoying one of the desserts there. To her massive amusement, he had ordered a third piece of the sacher cake and was making his way through it. Even Lars was amused. Naturally, Sergei's expression didn't exactly change, and he seemed to have no idea what was even amusing about it, but that was one of the things Lili kind of loved about him.

"I'm glad this is over," Lili said, sipping her coffee.

Lars nodded, taking yet another drag of a cigarette. "If you need any more help, get in touch. I'm pretty sure he can handle about anything, though. He probably could have handled this."

Sergei smirked. "I wanted to take care of it faster. You seemed useful enough for that,"

Lars snorted. "Thanks." He sat back, a hand in his pocket. He looked fairly relaxed, wearing a button-down green military shirt, left untucked, along with looser black jeans and combat boots. Lars was a bit more stylish, she noticed, on his downtime, though at the same time a little more casual.

Not that she minded staring at Sergei when he'd wear one of his tight tank tops. In fact, she quite loved his style, even though she was much more of a fashion-minded person herself and it was made for function rather than form. She took another bite of her cheesecake, trying to distract herself. She hadn't actually been with him for several days, and she was starting to kind of feel it she realized, now that she had settled from the excitement. She looked back at Lars.

"I got you first class. Don't worry."

He laughed. "For a two hour flight?"

Lili chuckled. "Of course. Why would you ride in the back?"

Sergei smiled softly. That side of her always amused him.

Lars shrugged. "I guess you're right. Thank you."

Lili shook her head. "I should be thanking you, for everything. You helped us when we needed it."

"Again, he could have handled it."

Sergei waved the waiter over as he walked by, pointing at his plate and his coffee cup and nodding. The waiter blinked, realizing he wanted yet another piece. Lili laughed. Sergei shrugged, smirking at her softly out of the corner of his mouth.

Lars folded his arms. "Guess even the statue here has a weak spot."

Sergei glared at him a moment before taking the plate from the waiter who had returned quickly, nodding in approval. He set into his fourth piece. Lars shook his head and stood.

"I need to run. The flight's leaving."

Lili stood, walking forth to hug him. Lars looked surprised. "Careful there," he said, jokingly. Lili smiled, knowing the unsaid words that followed- _I don't want someone to run my head through the wall here._

Sergei then stood to offer his hand out. He nodded, saluting with his free hand. Lars returned it as Sergei clapped him on the shoulder.

"Thank you," he said, sparing him a little smirk.

"I may ask the favor back one day."

Sergei nodded once. He sat back down to finish his apparent new favorite dish.

"The limo will take you," Lili said.

"I'll not want to go back to driving after this." He nodded once, turning to walk out.

Lili looked back at Sergei polishing off the fourth plate, putting it aside and looking over at the dessert carousel. He noticed two more pieces there. Lili blinked.

"You aren't thinking..."

He just shrugged, waving the waiter over again.

 _Sergei, even now, you never fail to surprise me about something._

–

They had eventually returned home, after winding down a bit longer at the restaurant.

Lili was sitting on the bed-wearing only the usual silk tank top she would put on when she got out of the shower-and reading through a few things. Her legs were tucked underneath of her off to the side, and she had turned the heat up a bit; it was nicely warm in there now.

Sergei looked up from his notes, seeing her there. He stared over at her a few moments before walking over himself. He looked her up and down, glad that she looked none worse for the wear after everything. It had been about a week since they ended it, and she had gone through most of her things that night. He suspected that perhaps she had other things on her mind, but she was quite calm, now. She was in fine spirits today as they sent Lars off.

And as always, she was very beautiful. Beautiful and almost naked. He knew he would have to leave soon-they would be going back within a couple of weeks or so-and he wasn't sure when he would be back. He suspected he would have a side job working for the family after this whole incident, which pleased him, though his duty was still first and foremost to the military.

Though he wished his duty was to something else...he didn't allow himself to think about that.

He lay next to her, nuzzling up to her side; he was very near her rear and leg. Lili shivered, smiling down at him as she put her book down and running a hand through his hair. Always thick and soft after he had washed it, she loved how it felt to run her fingers through it.

Which she suspected she would be doing in earnest fairly shortly, but she was in no hurry.

He looked up at her, smirking slightly as he rest his head there in silence. He traced his hand around her stomach, moving his head closer to kiss below her navel a few times before moving his head back. Lili sighed.

Surprisingly, Sergei spoke.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

She smiled. "Now? Perfectly fine. About everything...? I'm fine. I am."

He ran his hand over her leg and rear some more. "It's over," he said.

"Yes. Finally. I can start to maybe relax a little." She smirked down at him. "I see you're trying to help me with that."

He raised an eyebrow, giving her the smirk that she loved before kissing _very_ low on her stomach again, enjoying the feel of her hand through his hair. He looked back up after kissing her mound softly a few times, her breaths growing heavier.

He _did_ love teasing her sometimes.

Lili looked down to get a firmer grip on his hair, to try to perhaps coax him toward something. They had all night, but she didn't mind an early and intense bit of fun to start it off.

He looked up, moving forward to stroke her mound with this thumb; he gently began to push back, exposing her more. Her leg went around over on the other side of him. He kissed her thigh some more as he leaned forward to lick lightly at the area he exposed for a few moments, his hand rubbing above it.

Lili moaned; the feeling was already amazing, between his breaths on her thighs and exposed center, coupled with his tongue licking her in all the spots she liked. He leaned forward more, continuing his pleasure. He was planning on going at this for awhile tonight-he knew that soon it would be time to return back to Monaco, and then he would only be there for a couple of days as Mr. Rochefort set up anything else for the future, and to take care of other business. They would likely not get to see for some time. Sergei never knew how long that would be.

He gave her longer strokes of his tongue, flicking around her clit for a few moments as he positioned between her legs more fully as she leaned against the headboard, partially sitting up. She liked this-she could see him better. Her hands ran through his hair as she bit her lip at the feeling of his light nipping before he slid his tongue inside of her. Her moans grew louder, though as usual she tried to keep _some_ discretion, as hard as it was.

He repositioned, stroking her stomach with his hand; he always loved the feel of it. He brought his hand down to stroke her low a few times as he sped up his tongue; he finally held her thighs and pushed close to bring her over the first time quickly. He could tell by her look and actions that she wanted it.

She pushed herself into him more, thrusting to meet his movements as his tongue flicked against her clit faster; her moans grew closer together, followed by a gasp as she came. She could hear his own low moans as he drank her in.

He stayed between her legs some moments before moving back to rest his head against her thigh; once again she could feel the wetness on his face and laughed softly. She liked how relaxed he looked afterward; it was sort of nice, in a way. It showed that he was perfectly content to pleasure her; which he was. She looked down, smiling and catching her breath.

"Stay here tonight," she said.

He nodded, kissing her thigh again lightly several times. "I will."

She was surprised he did more than nod for once. She ran her hands down through his hair as he stroked her stomach absently with his hand, running it down low again. He leaned forward again to kiss lightly at her mound, pushing her leg out of the way again to begin teasing her slowly. She let out a shaking gasp-tonight was one of those nights where she wasn't sure what he was doing, but it felt beyond good.

He put his hands under her rear, lifting her up slightly to lick at her again slowly; still sensitive from the first time she cried out quietly. He continued to lightly tease her until he felt her ready enough to press back closer, swirling his tongue all around her, speeding up. He wanted nothing more than to hear her moans of pleasure right now; he was never the type to be...wanting, so to speak...before, anyway. But he did not relish leaving her. He wanted to indulge in her as much as he could; for him, it was more than just pleasure, it was a bonding when they would do everything that they did. It was something that allowed him to show her how he felt, even if he could not express it in a typical way.

He continued on, teasing her just enough to prolong it; she was being driven mad, but enjoying every moment. His low moans always turned her on, and the feel of his tongue doing everything she liked as she held onto his head was pure pleasure. She arched her back, knowing soon she would come again, and that it would be very heavy this time. She felt his breathing get heavier, and could hear the sounds of his actions even more as he sped up; he sucked her clit faster, wanting to drive her over the edge.

With a shaking gasp she came again; she was loud, but she didn't care. He rode out her orgasm, licking the entire time. He stopped when he felt her calm, the firm muscles in her stomach no longer contracting in pleasure.

He lifted his head, licking his lips several times. He moved up to lay his head on her stomach; she giggled at the feel of his breath and the fact her stomach now felt slightly wet along with her thighs, but then again, so did the sheets beneath her.

She stroked his hair in silence as she relaxed. She just had two orgasms, and they both felt amazing. Not to mention she was with the person she cared about nearly more than anything; she tried not to think of _this_ aspect too hard. Not with him having to leave for an undetermined amount of time in a couple of weeks.

Sergei was having similar thoughts as he lay on her. He started to move, but Lili gestured for him to stay. He looked up, smirking. He shifted; his previous work had, as usual, left him aroused beyond anything. He let himself loose from his trousers to make himself more comfortable. Lili saw this and smiled. She sat up a bit, clearly meaning to go have some fun with him.

She leaned in to kiss him, his huge hands finding her shoulders and running down them. Her hand reached down to his member, which he had already let loose from his trousers. He was incredibly hard, and she knew it wouldn't take her long to get him off, either. Tonight, though, she would wait until he recovered, and then go at it even more. She was much more awake now, even after two orgasms.

She stroked him slowly, wrapping her hand around it just firmly enough to get him to moan as he started to bite at her lip. She liked when he started to get just a little rough, as usual. They continued to kiss, her hand tightening around him to stroke, her fingers sometimes dancing over the tip, teasing him even more. He smirked at her after another kiss broke.

She slid down, kissing low on his stomach. Her hands traced his torso. He was always so pale, though he always seemed to be in exceptional health. His complexion would have led some to believe he may have been sickly, if they hadn't seen his powerful build. She tugged his trousers down some so she could run her hand over his massive legs.

Once again she found he had the nicest set of legs she had ever seen on a man. Before Sergei, Lili tended to have a 'type' that leaned more toward athletic muscle, but Sergei somehow got her much preferring a large man.

She kissed low on his stomach, her hand running around the inside of his leg and thigh as he sat against the wall, one of his hands gently stroking her hair. She slid a hand around his member again to stroke it more and more firmly, occasionally leaning over to lick around the head, listening to his moan become that low, almost-growl.

She smiled and moaned a bit herself as she took his length in her mouth finally, taking her time at first, sucking slowly and taking him deep. She ran her tongue around him several times as her free hand continued to massage his leg. He settled back, one knee up with a hand resting on it, the other gently stroking the back of her head. He leaned his own head against the wall, breathing much heavier now. He occasionally thrust his hips forward, her mouth doing all of the things he loved. He bit his lip a few times when she was particularly quick with her tongue.

He always loved her treatment of him. He didn't mind coming now-he would recuperate quickly enough afterward, he figured, and it would give him an excuse to go down on her some more. Not like he needed an excuse.

Lili continued, sucking faster. Her slim fingers teased him underneath; after teasing him a little some weeks back, she would do this every so often. She was always amused at the sudden, slightly louder grunts that would come out of him when she did. She didn't do it often or for long, but just enough to get him shifting a little or his hand running through her hair faster.

He closed his eyes, feeling himself ready to come after a few more moments of her pleasure; she sucked at him harder now, taking him as deep as she could. She did not stop until she felt him thrust his hips forward and come; as always she swallowed everything, her hand massaging his thigh firmly as she continued until he was finished, and then a little longer still.

She teased his head a few more moments with his tongue before she let him go, resting her head on his stomach, still caressing one leg. His hand continued to stroke her hair as he caught his breath, looking down at her with a tiny smile.

"Take your time," Lili said.

He smirked...a bit evilly, raising an eyebrow as he pushed her against the wall again, nuzzling down toward her thigh. She laughed.

 _I meant recovering, but okay_ _._ She wasn't complaining at all. She gasped when she felt the familiar and wonderful strokes of his tongue teasing her lightly as she tried to take a position. She slid closer to the edge of the bed, Sergei moving off to crouch next to her, rubbing her stomach for a moment before settling back to his spot. He pushed his mouth close to her as he began to lick, moving his head rhythmically against her. He was in deep, after she had pleasured him he wanted more, and he wanted to hear her moans yet again.

This would also get him hard again fairly quickly, he knew. The feel of her, along with her taste and scent-were more arousing to him than about anything.

Lili threw her head back, wrapping both legs around him. She grasped his head with both hands, as well; he was getting so intense she wanted to have him as close as she could toward her. She thrust her hips toward him, meeting his rhythm, all of the previous sensitivity causing her to feel even more pleasure than the first time.

She wasn't even paying too much attention to how loud she was being; she literally did not care at this point. She caught a glance at him; he quickly met her gaze before he closed his eyes to send her over again; all he had to do was suck at her clit somewhat roughly, rolling his tongue over it and she cried out in her hardest orgasm yet tonight.

Sergei kept licking her until she was finished as he always would; he didn't leave right away. He drank her in, stroking her side with one hand as he held the outside of her leg with the other as he stayed pressed against her. He traced the toned muscle of her leg with his hand, listening to her pleasured breathing. He felt her hands brush back his hair.

He pulled back, kissing her mound and her thighs before resting his head on her, looking up. His mouth and chin were glistening wet at this point. She chuckled weakly; she came _very_ hard this time and was still a bit out of it.

They were silent; he lay there with his head on her thigh, his other hand tracing over her smooth skin. He was growing hard as the time went on; he had spent a little extra time there, and now they both just seemed to want to enjoy some intimate and silent moments together. She was soaked to be sure; the bed cover would certainly need to be changed tonight.

Some more moments passed, and he started to move; she removed her hands from his hair as he paused to give her center one last kiss before moving by the wall to prepare himself. He licked his lips several times.

She moved over, almost jumping up on him as she somehow found a new energy to thrust down on him again and again; she nipped at his good shoulder as to not disturb any injuries. Any sore parts Lili had were long forgotten. She didn't know how many more times they would get to do this when they returned, so she wanted to enjoy each moment she could.

He thrust as well, both of her legs wrapped around him, squeezing every so often. His low moans grew a bit stronger over time as he went down to nip at the sensitive skin of her neck, in between dragging his tongue over the smooth skin. He had taken his time this entire night-he sort of didn't want it to end, but he knew it would have to eventually.

He thrust harder and faster yet; he wanted to come again. She had brought him over once, and he could tell he was almost there. With the final deep and low growl like sound he would make-that she loved-he bit down onto her shoulder and came, thrusting until he was finished. He walked over to the bed, sitting down on it with her still on his lap. She leaned back to look at him; she didn't care how sweaty or disheveled they were, but she was happy. Even after everything.

He lay back as she lay next to him. She wanted to enjoy some time just there naked with him before they went to shower. She sort of liked being with him during this perhaps slightly vulnerable moment; Lili was quite the perfectionist about her looks, as anyone knew, but she did not care at the moment at all.

Sergei rolled over, his fingers tracing under her chin. He said nothing. He rarely said anything after these times. Nor did he have to. He moved closer to her, resting his head down on her shoulder as they lie there. Neither wanted the moment to end.

They still had time, though.

They found it was better to think about the time they had, rather than the time they wouldn't.

* * *

 **A/N:** WELL okay this was long and excessive then. Hey, they went through a lot. They deserved a big messy romp in the sack I think.

Epilogue is up next. I'm glad you guys stuck with this for so long!

Also, I somehow pictured Sergei with SOME sort of food vice. I mean he developed into a coffee-with-vodka guy, but 'sacher cake' came to mind so BOOM he found out he likes it. WHY NOT.


	7. Chapter 7

Lili went about the room, slowly packing more of her things. She would be leaving back to Monaco in three days, and they were due to leave early. Sergei would becoming along for a night; her father clearly wanted to thank him in person for everything. She was quite pleased that he said that he would go to him first for any sorts of work; given how the military was very pleased with the amount of money he was funneling him-Lili tried not to think about this too much-he would likely end up back every so often.

She would have a busy holiday; heading back for all of the company Christmas parties, family Christmas parties, friends' Christmas parties and everything of that nature before going back to classes in January. She had no idea what things would bring then. She would be going back from an apparent expert at solving corporate intrigue to the socialite heiress of Rochefort Enterprises.

While she would be perfectly happy never seeing some of the stuff she had to put up with again, she admitted that life may be a bit boring for her these days. Boring, and deprived of something very special to her.

 _Or someone._

Sergei would be well back in his duties by then, and she wasn't sure when she would be seeing him. She suspected it wouldn't be too long, given the job he did, but she always hated these goodbyes since the past times it took some months. She thought it would likely be several weeks to months again. It was difficult for her, and she knew how difficult it was for him as well, though he hid it well and pushed it down, as he did.

He was busy packing things as well, though he had much less. Being a military man, he could bring what he needed in a couple of large packs. Lili didn't much care; she just brought whatever she needed, as she never had to carry any of it anyway.

She was trying to keep her mind occupied. She had done this whole thing before. They had to separate, and they did. It shouldn't have been any different than the last two times, but it was. They had been together so much longer this time, for one. Two, Sergei had helped the family get rid of someone who could have been a great danger if left unchecked. Maybe not next week or even next month, but down the line.

She _still_ felt a bit strange still about ordering Sergei to kill him. She did not do it-she just wounded him, and even then, nothing to really speak of. But she gave Sergei the order, and he carried it out. She didn't know what happened, but she could piece it together. She had seen Sergei kill many, many times now. Her hands were still clean, and she liked them to remain that way...but was it still clean if you order someone _else_ to press the button? It was something else that would enter her mind, but she tried to chase out. She still thought about it, even now-though she thought about it less.

They had grown so close over the past months-even more than they had before-and she did not want to leave. But duty called, for both of them. They both knew what they had, and what it had to be like. She had a hard time this past two weeks, now that it felt...so _over_ , she knew she would have to say goodbye, and she hated that fact. She cried more than once, mostly angrily. She had snapped at Sergei once or twice, though she didn't mean anything by it. He knew this, and would only touch her face. Sometimes that frustrated her more, since he could stay so... _neutral_ on everything, but she did not know what he was feeling on the inside.

On the inside, he was cursing the situation. He had considered once or twice-for only a few moments-breaking off from everything and going to live somewhere with her; anyone trying to tell him differently would be in serious trouble.

But he knew that was not who he was. And he knew that she understood that. She not only understood, that was one of the things that made her fall for him in the first place.

After a bit of time, she heard the soft knock, followed by the rattling key. She turned, these days knowing what his presence felt like from behind. She leaned back when she felt his hands wrap over her shoulders and his head slide next to hers as he leaned over her. After kissing her neck once, he stood back, smiling down.

"Three days. Well, I'll have one night at the manor. Luckily I won't have to leave until later on that evening."

"Don't talk about your leaving." She sighed. She knew it was better to face it than hide from it.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Lili shook her head. "No need to be." She got a wicked smirk. "Well, we'll have one more night to do something we shouldn't at the manor at least."

He smirked back, raising his eyebrow. "I will be back though. There is a deal. I will need to be in Russia for awhile, and I'm not sure when I'll be back...but I will."

"So it's not if, it's when."

"Barring a worst cas..."

Lili interrupted him. "I know you. That won't happen." This, she would be stubborn on.

He nodded, though there was the ghost of a smile on his lips. He went over to the balcony doors, looking at the cold sunset. He took out a cigarette, sliding it in his mouth as he took off his long sleeved shirt; his usual dark gray tank top was underneath of it. He lit the cigarette, standing there with his arm against the glass as he looked out. Lili sat on the edge of the bed and watched him the entire time.

He simply looked out over Berlin, having actually enjoyed his time here all told-especially being with Lili, and being able to finally destroy the man who had been causing them trouble. He suspected that there would be more...but so long as he could, he would help with them, too.

He quietly finished his cigarette before walking over to the bed to sit next to her. He absently kicked at one of the suitcases on the floor with his combat boot as he stretched his arms out. He looked over to her, smirking.

She smiled back...she knew that look. He was asking, in his usual silent manner, if maybe they ought to not waste these few days. She touched his face.

"It won't take me long to pack," she said, laying back.

He leaned over her to kiss her, his hand tracing down her.

 _On second thought, I'll just get the servants to help me pack._

 _Tomorrow._

 _I have more important things at the moment._

* * *

A/N: And thus ends the first arc to 'Reticent Watcher'. The series is not done, though! I plan on starting up the 2nd arc in the fall, and it'll be in a new area(the US and Japan, to be sure, and probably about three or four months later. We've been in Europe for a long time with these guys, even in my other series!)

I want to thank all for sticking with it so far. It's been a fun one seeing how they grow and adapt and everything, and how close they've gotten, while still not having too many massive changes to their characters. It's maybe a bit of a bittersweet ending; it's happy to be sure in the sense that this threat is dealt with and they know how close they are, but the fact they cannot be together in the way they want-yes, even Sergei now-is pretty sad. Still, they'll make do.

I'll probably do some PWP between now and then(Reunion series most like, since that's the easy one to do that with), but otherwise long epic stories are going on a bit of a hiatus until September to let me recharge.

Feel free to comment/note me/etc if you like what you see!


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